Kabal of the Cursed Sons
The Kabal of the Cursed Sons is a large Dark Eldar Kabal that is currently ravaging the ill-fated Gallican Sector. The Kabal as led by the spiteful, ambitious Archon, Vosur Daggertongue. The Kabal was originally composed of multiple smaller disgraced Kabals that were untied under Vosur's visionary leadership. Under his guidance the Kabal has monopolized the Gallican Sector, taking advantage of the mayham that the quaranteen and the Chaos curse known as the Perverter's Blight has caused. The Kabal jealously chases off any other Dark Eldar that try to exploit the Sector, and have become wealthy and powerful by plundering its worlds, but the Kabal has a far greater ambition that it works towards. With no signs that the quaranteen is going to stop any time soon, and the situation in the Sector becoming increasingly dire, it seems likely that the Imperium will end up cutting ties with the Sector soon. If this occurs the Sector will be ripe for the picking. Vosur dreams of making the Sector into his own empire, and to this end he has begun coercing and intimidating many of the Sectors officials into allying themselves with him. The final goal is to gain utter political control of the Sector. With the resources and slaves that his new empire will bring him Vosur hopes to challenge the powers that control Commoragh. History The Kabal of the Cursed Sons is a recently formed Kabal, and for all the power and influence it has now the Kabal's origins were less than impressive. It began in one of Commoragh's satellite realms. Namely a realm that was refered to as the Dregs. The Dregs was a small realm, and before the Quaranteen of the Gallican Sector it position in the Webway did not place it in proximity to any great opportunity. Thus it was considered a lesser realm by the inhabitants of Commoragh, unworthy of their time. Over the millenia the Dreg had become a haven for those Kabals that for one reason or another had been driven from Commoragh. Usually these were Kabals that had failed to thrive, finding it impossible to compete within the byzantine conflicts of the Dark City. These small, poor weak Kabals would find their way to the Dregs and set up shop. The Kabals of thye Dregs were little more than street gangs, being inferior to the Kabals of Commoragh in resources, numbers and skill. They struggle amongst themselves in pale imitations of the intriques and wars of the Dark City, and there these Popper Kabals were left to languish. Forgotten by their betters within the Dark City. However two things would change the fate of the Dregs and those that inhabited it. The first was the arrival of Vosur, and his Kabal of Scarlet Torment. Vosur and his Kabal had been mediocre as the standards of Commoragh went, as Vosur had inherited the Kabal from his father, an Archon of little competence, who had left the Kabal with little power. The Kabal had only maintained its existence through servitude to a greater Kabal. As such despite Vosur's great abilities and ambition, his road to power had been blocked by his allegience to such a weak Kabal. Eventually the Kabal that they served struck an alliance with a one of the Kabal of Scarlet Torment's rivals, and abandonned them to their enemies. Raided, pillaged and robbed of what little worth they had the Kabal of Scarlet Torment was forced to flee Commoragh, and thus made it's way to the Dregs. In spite of his fortunes Vosur's eyes still burned with ambition and vengeful rage. He swore that he would find a way to reclaim what he had lost, and reach heights that his father could never have dreamed of, as well as having revenge on those that had cast him down into disgrace. The second event was the Imperium quaranteening the Gallican Sector in order to stem the spread of the genetically inherited Chaos curse known as the Perverter's Blight. The Blight had long caused unrest within the already volitile Gallican Sector, and the quaranteen made it so that resources and military reinforcements could not enter the sector, resulting in turmoil. In this turmoil Vosur recognized a great opportunity. Forming a New Kabal With the quaranteen in place resources and troops from outside the Gallican sector could no longer be brought in. Shortages of supplies wracked many planets, and with no reinforcements from the Imperial Guard, Imperial Navy or any other military force the sector security was in jeopardy. With Gallican vulnerable Vosur saw an opportunity to raid worlds that were normally protected. In addition to this the Dregs was placed in a fortuitous position. The majority of the known Webway tunnels that lead into the Gallican Sector passed through the Dregs. So long as a force was able to hold the Dregs, and keep others from arbitrarily passing through it they would have nearly exclusive access to the now vulnerable Sector. However holding the Dregs against the aggression of the larger Kabals and taking full advantage of the Sector's weakened state would require more military resources than any one Kabal in the Dregs possessed. Vosur could not attempt to garner backers from Commoragh proper, for the larger, wealthier Kabals would no doubt double cross him and leave him with nothing. The only choice left was to unite the various weak Kabals of the Dregs into a unified fighting force. Vosur set about arranging his dominion over the other Kabals. The Kabal of Scarlet Torment was already the most powerful Kabal in the Dregs, but even so that did not mean he could afford to waste resources. He bribed, intimidated and assassinated his rivals into collusion with him, but ironically he only had to use these tools sparingly to convince most of the Kabals to join him. Times had been especially lean in the Dregs at that point, and the fortresses of nearly all of the Kabals were filled with warriors that had joineed the ranks of the Parched. As it turned out the Kabals of the Dregs were so desperate for new slaves that they were willing for the most part to submit to Vosur in return for the prosperity he promised. Vosur quickly went about reorganizing and fortifying his new force. Being a cunning and charismatic leader he quickly bolstered the spirits of his new forces for the undertaking to come with something all of them understood, spite. On the formation of his new Kabal Vosur made a speech about how they had all suffered unduly as a result of the disdain of those in Commoragh. He spoke of how even though they were the "Cursed sons of Commoragh, cast aside to wallow and die" they would overcome the challenges before them, and would teach those that had spurned them to fear and respect their names. It was following this speech that the new Kabal was christened. Resurgence With his Kabal newly formed Vosur did not waste any time. They only had a small window of opportunity before the Kabals of Commorragh swarmed to the Gallican Sector like sharks that smell blood in the water. The Kabal of the Cursed Sons began conducting raids on the more isolated worlds of the Gallican Sector, those that lacked great protection. This came easily, and they made off with a substantial haul of slaves over a short period of time. They used these slaves first to slake their terrible thirst, and then traded them with the Kabals of Commorragh in return for weapons, vehicles and equipment. When the first of their dark brethren came seeking passage through the Dregs osur was forced to relent. The Kabal of the Cursed Sons had yet to build up the military assets needed to truly secure the Dregs from the other Dark Eldar, but this changed little. The Kabal redoubled it's efforts to take advantage of the Gallican Sector, and so profitted more from the quaranteen than anyother single Kabal at that time. They built up their arsenal, and soon they were able to impose their rule on the Dregs. Kabals seeking passage to the Gallican Sector beyond were forced to pay the Kabal of the Cursed Sons a significant fine. At first these Kabals laughed at the threats that Vosur made. After all how could trash from the Dregs possibly oppose them? However their laughs soon turned to cries of dismay as they found the Kabal of the Cursed Sons was now more than well equipped enough to back up its threats. Vosur didn't stop there. As news of the wealth and power that the Kabal of the Cursed Sons reached Commorragh so to did Vosur reach out towards certain Kabals within the Dark City. Vosur offered alliances and protection to some of the city's weakest Kabals. At first these Kabals acted merely as allies, but eventually through Vosur's plotting these new allies were absorbed fulkly into the Kabal of the Cursed Sons, swelling their ranks. The Kabal had now become a formidable force even by the standards of the Dark City, and Vosur was now able to fully cordon off the Dregs, monopolizing the flagging Imperial Sector beyond. With the Kabal's coffers full, and any aggressors currently at bay Vosur sought to rebuild the Dregs. He demolished the delapidated buildings of the city and raised new ones in their place. Where ever the marks of the Dregs former poverty and desperation remained the Kabal raised dark new edifices resplendent in their terrible glory. After a considerable period the Dregs had been completely rebuilt, almost from the ground up. With this Vosur proclaimed that the Dregs were no longer, and that forever more the city where they used to lay would be known as Black Crest, and would remain the seat of his Kabal's power for all time. A Dark Vision The Kabal was now strong and prosperous. Vosur now had his own realm of Black crest, all the wealth he could possibly need and he even managed to destroy some of the Kabals in Commorragh that had wronged him. He had claimed a palace within the Dark City that belonged to the Kabal that had betrayed him (the first Kabal to feel his wrath) which acted as Vosur's foothold in the city proper. He even made powerful allies within the Dark City that supported him. in spite of this these things did not satisfy his ambitions. Vosur wanted to rise like a phoenix to become unparalled among his kind. As the quaranteen of the Gallicanj Sector went on a grand scheme came to mind. Talk had reached Vosur's sources that the Imperium was considering abandonning the Gallican Sector. Essentially the Gallican Sector would lose all support by the Imperium (or what little it still had) and they would remain under quaranteen. In such case anyone could potentially prey upon the Gallican Sector, but it also meant that the Imperium would not interfere if an outside faction claimed the Sector as their own territory. Vosur dreamed of not simply raiding the worlds of the Gallican Sector, but also ruling them all overtly. In essence Vosur wanted to turn the Gallican Sector into his own interstellar empire that he would rule from Black Crest. The Worlds would be ruled by human servants that answered to him. All of the planets would provide tithes of slaves and resources on a regular basis. Furthermore the armies of those worlds would be his to command. With such an empire Vosur could make a legitimate bid for true power within Commoragh. Thus the Kabal has begun to insinuate itself into the politics of the Gallican Sector in preparation to take it over in the near future. With a shortage of available military forces many planets are vulnerable to attack by Orks, or heretical forces. The promise of protection has often been enough to get the nobles of these planets to sell themselves to the Dark eldar. Others Vosur has bought through the promise of political or military support, or simply bribed them with wealth or promises of power and prestige in his new regime. Some he has simply intimidated into his service through the threat of violance. With these methods the Kabal of the Cursed Sons has built up a number of allies and pawns among the upper echelons of the Gallican Sector. However his ambitions have obstacles in their way. Currently Waaagh! Forzak and the Perverter's Blight are ravaging the worlds Vosur would make his own. In order to create a stable rule over the Sector the Kabal must find some solution to this problem. Additionally the Imperium has not completely lost its teeth either. The Inquisition has become somewhat aware of the Dark eldar influence among the nobles and officials of the Gallican Sector, and have moved to purge these elements. Perhaps most troublesome of all had been Battlefleet Gallican. In recent years Lord Admiral Halan Mors has organized the Imperial Navy in the Sector as a cohesive force, and has been cracking down on Dark Eldar raids. The Kabal has found itself with a number of enemies, but it is determined to crush all opposition, and claim their rightful prize. Notable Conflicts Organization The Kabal of the Cursed Sons is a fairly large organization due to being formed from a number of lesser Kabals. As a result Vosur created thye Arch-Dracons as a rank for the subordinate Archons that assimilated into his Kabal, and act as another tier of organization. Given the Growth of the Kabal since the beginning of the Gallican Quaranteen each Arch Dracon has a sizable force at their command. However in truth the title of Arch-Dracon was mainly a way to soothe the egos of those Archons which now found themselves the subordinates of a higher lord. Originally the Kabal of the Cursed Sons was numerous, but still highly weak. Their numbers were akin to cannon fodder as the poor Kabals that made it up were all starved for resources. Their numbers along with the prodigious leadership of Vosur were all that they could rely on in order to attain victory. They did this by spreading out their forces, raiding numerous small, weak colonize simultaneously, thus allowing them to quickly and relatively safely acquire resources. However this changed after the Kabal began to make headway in their search for plunder. As the coffers and slave pens of the Cursed Sons began to fill to the brim, Vosur and his officers began to change tact. As a result of their vast wealth the Cursed Sons now field an above average number of mercenary forces, such as Scourges and Incubi. These elite, heavily armed forces now act as the spear tip to the Kabal's viscious assualts. In addition the Kabals Elite forces and fighting vehicles are often equipped with more expensive and effective wargear. In addition The Kabal can now afford to buy a number of Pain Engines from the flesh workshops of the Haemonculi. These monstrous war machines are now a standard part of the Kabal's forces. The majority of these are provided by the Coven of Blinding Night, who have special contracts with the Kabal. In addition to Pain Engines Vosur has charged the body sculpters of the Coven to find ways to modify his human servants in order to make them more effective in their duties. In addition ot the Coven of Blinding Night the Kabal of the Cursed Sons have an exclusive relationship with the Cult of Spiteful Steel.. This Wych Cult was largely driven out of Commorragh due to the unpopular aesthetics of its lead Succubus, Vayla Cold-Born. However Vosur values them more for their fighting prowess than for their entertainment value, and thus gladly allowed them ot set up a coliseum in Black Crest. As a result the Cult's Cyborg Wychs can be seen fighting at the behest of the Kabal. In his attempts at renovating the Dredges of their old stain, and raising Black Crest Vosur did his best to rid it of "Undesirables" that would tarnish his Kabal's glory, or cause issues for his rule. Many of the denizens of the Dredges did not like that. The Hellion Gangs of the Dredges in particular took offense, and have been fighting against Vosur's iron fisted rule of Black Crest. Ultimately they are little more than a nuisance ot the Kabal of the Cursed Sons, but they are a persistant one, and Vosur hates them with a passion. Thus the Kabal never makes use of "Sky riding scum" in thier raids. Dagger Shades Every day the Kabal of the Cursed Sons brings in countless unfortunate slaves, raided for the desperate and struggling Gallican Sector. For the majority of these miserable souls a standard fate is to befall them. They will be tortured and forced into back-breaking labor for the rest of their tortured existence, gaining release from this Hell only when they are no longer useful, or their masters grow bored of them. However a portion of the youngest and fittest human slaves will be selected to become Vosur's infamous Dagger Shades. When Vosur began his scheme to turn the Gallican Sector into his own personal empire he knew that he would need supporters amongst the humans of the Sector. He bribed, threatened and coerced many humans to his cause, but he still encountered difficulty. It was not unheard of for Dark Eldar to do business with humans and make pawns out of them, but the problem that Vosur faced was onje of scale. Dark Eldar can be very covert and discrete, but if he were to send his agents among the humans on the scale necessary to bring his plans to fruition within reasonable time he would likely draw too much attention for the humans, and expose his plots. He needed agents that could seemlessly slip in and out of human societies without raising suspicion, and bringing his Kabal to attention. Vosur came up with a solution. Dedicated human agents that would act as agents, assassins and middlemen between him and humans he was coercing. Thus the Dagger Shades were born. Vosur took a portion of those human slaves that his Kabal adducted to make his new agents. He chose those that were young as well as intelligent and strong, and began to shape them into new blades for his arsenal. The training to become a Dagger Shade is harsh. The youths are mentally broken down so that they can be more easily molded into perfect agents. Every aspect of their personalities and former lives are stripped from them, and replaced with utter devotion towards Vosur. The young Dagger Shades are so heavily conditioned that they priorities whatever objective their master gives them over self-preservation. They also go through an intense regimen of physical training as well as lessons in espionage and military arts. The training is brutal, and most do not survive, but those that do emerge as highly skilled and utterly loyal operatives. Dagger Shades are formidable and cunning agents. On average a Dagger Shade is skilled in a number of human languages, educated in interrogation and negotiation and trained in any number of deadly martial arts. Vosur assures that his Dagger Shades are well equiped, usually using high-end human equipment in their operation in order to hide their allegiance, but often having access to advanced Dark Eldar technology as well. Dagger Shades are Vosur's eyes, ears, hands and voice within the Gallican Sector. It is usually they that approach prospective assets at Vosur's behest, and act as middlemen after. It is they keep an eye on the working the the Gallican Sector, and keep Vosur informed. They eliminate those that might expose or oppose his schemes. A Dagger Shade might even be charged with creating and running a covert network on some worlds. With all their training and duties it is understandable that Dagger Shades have special status among the slaves of the Kabal. Vosur insures that his favored pets a treated far better thna the lowly wretches from which they originate. Even other members of the Kabal are to treat them with a level of courtesy, as they act and speak with Vosur's authority. Many members of the Kabal find giving deference to lowly slaves galling, but none would ever kill or hamr a Dagger Shade unless they believed they could conceal it. To do so would raise Vosur's ire. Notable Members Combat Doctrine The Kabal of the Cursed Sons has the duel advantages of size and wealth. This means that they have both been able to field a greater number of troops than an average Kabal, and field more elite and highly equiped troops than normal. However it should be known that these advantages are lessened somewhat due to the Kabal operating across an entire Sector, and the Kabal rarely fights as a whole. when the Kabal goes into battle it usually starts preparations long before the opening shots. Vosur will often deploy his Dageer Shades, or their network of contacts before striking at a target in order to gain information, and to sabotage his soon to be adversaries. As a result the Kabal usually goes itno battle well informed of the enemies strengths, weaknesses and positioning, and their foes will find themselves at an intant disadvantage. Once battle has truly begun the Kabal prefers to begin with the deployment of their most elite and hardest hitting troops. Incubi, Scourges, Trueborn, Pain Engines, Ravagers and other such potent forces are deployed first. These elite forces strike swiftly and brutally at strategically chosen targets. These targets can include officers, special war machines, critical structures and weak points within the enemy lines. All of these are targetted with great precision and brutally assualted in order to destroy or capture them. Only then does the rest of the force sweep in. Once the initial attacks have finished the main force comes in. If the initial attack was successful then the enemy will be confused, weakened and disoriented. Their broken lines and devastated morale make them easy targets for the infantry that sweep through after the vanguard, mopping up those unfortunate enough to be left alive. All of this is done with a great degree of speed and coordination. Vosur believes in swift devastation. While this is the preferred style of combat for the Kabal they can of course fight in other ways. If the Kabal can not make use of their instant destruction strategy they will fall back on more orthodox Dark Eldar strategies. They are still highly dangerous even in these cases as the high number of elites makes them a dangerous force. In addition the battle will likely go their way if the Kabal is being lead directly by Vosur. Vosur possesses an uncanny ability to spot tactical and strategic opportunities, striking at weak points that weren't readily apparent to his enemies or subordinates. A Foul Conspiracy Holdings Relationships Category:Dark Eldar Kabals Category:Gallican Sector